Jeff Popple reviews three great books for Dad this Father’s Day! More of Jeff’s reviews can be found on his blog: murdermayhemandlongdogs.com
Patting The Shark by Tim Baker
Ebury, $34.99
Patting The Shark is a powerful and inspiring book for dads this Father’s Day. In 2015, award-winning surf writer Tim Baker was diagnosed with incurable stage four metastatic prostate cancer. Suddenly, Tim’s dream life of travel, family and surfing was subsumed by a debilitating descent into aggressive cancer treatments and a brutal fight for survival. Rather than give up, Tim sought out supportive, evidence-based therapies such as meditation, diet, counselling, and surfing to help mitigate the devastating side effects. An honest and confronting account of facing your mortality and working out what really matters in your life. Essential reading.
The Scrap Iron Flotilla by Mike Carlton
William Heinemann, $34.99
Dads who like military history will appreciate Mike Carlton’s The Scrap Iron Flotilla. At the beginning of World War II, the Australian government sent five destroyers to support the British Navy in the Mediterranean. They were old ships that had seen better days and were dismissed by Nazi propaganda as being a load of scrap iron. Despite their limitations, the ships performed valiantly in the Mediterranean, escorting vital convoys and rescuing soldiers after the fall of Greece. The Scrap Iron Flotilla is a fascinating and well told account of the activities of the ships and the challenges they faced during the War.
Look Both Ways by Linwood Barclay
HQ, $32.99
Linwood Barclay’s Look Both Ways combines cars and thrills in a highly entertaining read. The residents of Garrett Island are part of a visionary experiment. Their cars have been sent to the mainland and they have been given self-driving vehicles called Arrivals. With just a voice command, an Arrival will take you where you want to go, avoiding other cars and eliminating road accidents. However, as the press arrives for a glimpse of this driverless future, things start to go wrong and suddenly the sleek driverless cars are no longer taking orders, instead they are hunting humans. A clever and addictive thriller.
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